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Ape Escape joins Japan's 2010 PlayStation Move launch library
We haven't seen much (or anything) of Ape Escape's first foray onto PS3 since it was announced at Tokyo Game Show last year. However, a new announcement video (after the break) showcases the first few seconds of footage of the Move-exclusive game. Furi Furi! Sarugetchu, as it will be called in Japan, joins a relatively small line-up of games launching this year for the PlayStation motion controller in Japan. In fact, only six games are planned for release on the hardware's October 21 launch date: EyePet (SCEJ, ¥3,980) Sports Champion (SCEJ, ¥3,980) Beat Sketch (SCEJ, ¥2,980) Fure! Fure! Bowling (aka High Velocity Bowling, SCEJ, ¥1,900) Machi Suberi (aka Kung Fu Rider, SCEJ, ¥3,980) Big 3 Gun Shooting (Namco Bandai, ¥6,279)
ESRB: Uncharted, PAIN and more become Pinball Heroes on PSP
*Not what you're getting. This probably wasn't what fans had in mind when they demanded an Uncharted game for Sony's handheld. A series of new ESRB ratings reveals a new pinball franchise, most likely under the PSP Minis label, based on various first-party PlayStation properties. Pinball Heroes: Uncharted is the most noteworthy of the bunch which according to the ESRB descriptor, is based on Drake's Fortune. "Players use flippers to hit the ball around a crashed airplane, into silhouetted character targets, and off bumpers shaped like gold coins to score points."In addition to Uncharted, other franchises will be getting the pinball treatment, including High Velocity Bowling, PAIN and Hot Shots Golf. Wait, no Pinball Heroes: God of War? That's a missed opportunity!Unfortunately, no further details of the Pinball Heroes franchise can be garnered from the ESRB listings. We're submitting a few questions to Sony (like "how much?" and "why?") and will update when we hear back.[Via GamerBytes]
Qore subscribers get free access to High Velocity Bowling
Are you a Qore subscriber? Well, you can stop playing Calling All Cars! as you'll be receiving a brand new downloadable game from Sony. New and old subscribers to Qore will receive a voucher, granting free access to High Velocity Bowling, a SIXAXIS-controlled bowling game.Episode 10 of the PSN video magazine, available today, will include previews of Burnout Paradise: Big Surf Island, The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena, and Alpha Protocol. In addition to the standard overview of Blu-ray releases, this episode will also highlight some user-generated levels from LittleBigPlanet. To see a video preview, click past the break.%Gallery-4969%
High Velocity Bowling DLC adds two (stereotypical) challengers
New High Velocity Bowling character DLC is bringing two new challengers to the alley for US$.99 cents apiece. Added today are Bruce 'Flyboy' Fitzpatrick, a "flamboyant flight attendant from New York" who has proven to have "fabulous ball control," and Carmen 'Sordida' Sanchez, a feisty Latina with "a chip on her shoulder" who will "do anything to win, even if it requires dirty tactics." We'll give you another moment to read those descriptions. Ready? Let's continue. Along with revealing the characters, the PlayStation Blog announced a new add-on pack for HVB called "Jill's Trick-Shot Pack," available March 19. Also, the blog also reminds gamers that High Velocity Bowling is fun for the whole family! Adding these new DLC characters, however, is like moving that fun-loving family into a trailer home filled with asbestos.
New High Velocity Bowling content coming, starting today
A new PlayStation Blog post details a number of new downloadables for everyone's favorite PSN bowling simulator, High Velocity Bowling. Two new characters, Foxy Powers and Chastity Falls, are joining the character roster. The development team will also start offering downloadable ball packs, giving you access to various different ball styles. The first ball pack, which is halloween themed. Each of these downloads will cost you $0.99 when they're made available on the US PSN Store later today. Just to be clear, that's $0.99 per character.Europeans, you're not being ignored. Mike Skinner, from Team RamRod, says that they "are working as fast as we can to release it to you as well." Maybe next week, eh?
Trophies: High Velocity Bowling
0 Platinum1 Gold4 Silver7 Bronze Difficulty: Moderate Online Trophies? Yes Time to Completion: 10 hoursDLC Trophies? No View Trophy List Read More About the Game %Gallery-4969%
PSN Thursday: Bowled over by Burnout Paradise
PlayStation 3 owners finally have something they can gloat about: not only do they get a demo for Burnout Paradise, but they also get it a week before any Xbox 360 owners using the free Silver membership. Today's PSN update also includes new Rock Band DLC as well as new bowlers for last week's High Velocity Bowling, costing one Washington apiece.If you don't want to worry about unlocking Need for Speed Pro Street, you can spare yourself the gameplay for a meager $2.49 to $9.99. Full update list after the break.
High Velocity Bowling includes custom soundtracks
Yesterday's PSN original, High Velocity Bowling, includes a long-awaited feature: in-game custom soundtracks. ripten discovered that you can play any music from your hard drive (although streamed music is not compatible). Hopefully, this is a sign that upcoming games will more readily sport this much-wanted feature.[Thanks, Justin!]
XMB who? Custom soundtracks, friend lists spotted in PS3 games
With the long-overdue in-game XMB still a no-show as of last month's 2.00 PS3 firmware update, we were about to resign ourselves to a future that entailed exiting out of games to read messages and getting up to change the channels. Yeah, barbaric. But perhaps we're being a little too fatalistic. Included in yesterday's PSN Thursday update were some special treats: notably a custom soundtrack option in High Velocity Bowling that looks very XMB-ish, along with an in-game friends list for the Timeshift demo, available from the multiplayer screen, which also has that XMB look 'n feel. So if we've got some of the most requested features being added straight to games, emulating the look and feel of the XMB interface, what do we need an in-game XMB for then? Maybe nothing, but we worry that if developers become responsible for implementing this functionality instead of it being a system constant, that we'll see an inconsistent experience across whichever games decide to add it. While we're not quite bowled over, it's a step in the right direction. [Thanks, Justin]
PSN Thursday: We'll bowl at a high velocity
This week's PSN Thursday update rolls in with some High Velocity Bowling. The $10 PSN downloadable game is joined by a few Folklore add-ons and the prerequisite Rock Band DLC. Although we shouldn't be that excited, we're a little giddy over the free Ratchet & Clank theme -- and no, it's not a furry thing. (Not that there'd be anything wrong with that if it was.)For the PSN European update check out sister-site PS3 Fanboy. US folks can hit up the full update list after the break.
Expect the following in High Velocity Bowling: bowling
"Bowling's like life, don'cha think?" No, frankly, we don't, but it's still an entertaining glimpse at the downloadable title High Velocity Bowling, headed to the PlayStation Store at ... well ... at some point. There are eight different colorful characters to play as (and themed alleys to unlock), and with support for up to four players, it's a pretty sweet concept.The game is fully controlled by the Sixaxis, with a simulated bowling swing. Not sure how comfy the Sixaxis will fit in that manner, but whatever. There's a trophy room where you can view all your successes, which will probably come from the Challenge Mode where you progress through tournaments, matches, and some interesting trick shot performances. Overall, it's a bowling game. What else did you expect?%Gallery-4969%
Does High Velocity Bowling steal more than just hype?
The PlayStation Network's upcoming downloadable title High Velocity Bowling certainly hasn't met critical acclaim so far. When Andrew played the game earlier this year, he felt the game's use of the Sixaxis controller was gimmicky and didn't successfully recreate the feel of actual bowling like that certain other bowling game.Not only does this game attempt to get in on the hype Wii Sports has created, it also appears to have stolen the name of one of Nintendo's most disrespected and abused characters of all time. Watch the video and see if you can find who we're talking about.
Sony's High Velocity Bowling started 'literally right before' Nintendo announced Wii Sports' Bowling
MTV ninja Stephen Totilo infiltrated the tooth-decaying sugar-fluff of Sony Gamers' Day and shoved his mic into High Velocity Bowling developer Scott Rohde's face, asking him the tough question: Dude, like, you know everyone's sayin' you just copied Nintendo ... so, like, you did, right? Maybe not. With the lens carefully trained on his San Diego tan, Rohde's fired back with a little-known factoid, "Before we knew that Wii Bowling was coming out we were building [High Velocity], absolutely." You sure about that, Scott? 'Cause Nintendo confirmed 'Bowling' back in September '06. "We started working on it, literally, right before that ... and we had a prototype up in place when [Wii Sports] came out," alleged Rohde.But why argue about who was first to the gimmick? Considering price, Wii Sports and High Velocity are categorically different. Wii Sports is free, but as a PSN title, High Velocity will likely cost in the $5-to-10 range (and planned expansion packs could balloon the total price). If Rohde's statements are accurate, then High Velocity will end up more akin to Rockstar's Table Tennis or maybe the Outlaw sports series, as it will apparently feature a more robust physics engine than Wii Sports and pre-built unlockable characters. Wii's Bowling will ultimately be matched up against PlayStation Home's built-in bowling game, which is being developed separately from High Velocity, but, like the others, will probably incorporate motion controls.
SGD '07: Wii Sports-like bowling game for PSN
Sony revolutionizes the games industry yet again by introducing a sports game that detects your motion through the controller! Instead of pressing buttons, one can hold the controller and move it as if it were a real bowling ball. We love the idea!But in all honesty, we think that the SIXAXIS may not be as well-suited for this type of gameplay as other consoles. Joystiq's Kevin Kelly tried the game, and as we suspected, didn't have the easiest time with the game: "You literally flip the controller on its side, hold it with your thumb between the analog sticks, and then sweep your arm gracefully along an arc while holding and releasing one of the buttons to send your ball down the alley. Sound simple? Well, it is and it isn't. Holding the SIXAXIS like that feels really, really weird. It's like we're wired or programmed to hold that controller with both hands, and doing something like that makes our gamer genes cry out in pain. Although, in all honesty, once we got the hang of it, it wasn't all that bad." So while not truly revolutionary, High Velocity Bowling should offer some motion-sensing fun for the Wii-less. Because it's coming through the PLAYSTATION Network, this experiment in copycat design should, at the very least, be affordable.
High Velocity Bowling is ... bowling its way onto PS3
Click for bigger version. var digg_url = 'http://digg.com/playstation_3/Wii_Sports_like_bowling_game_for_PS3'; In a game announcement destined to pit Wii against PS3 (did you ever think you'd hear that?), Sony announced its very own High Velocity Bowling game that utilizes the Sixaxis' motion controls. You literally flip the controller on its side, hold it with your thumb between the analog sticks, and then sweep your arm gracefully along an arc while holding and releasing one of the buttons to send your ball down the alley.Sound simple? Well, it is and it isn't. Holding the Sixaxis like that feels really, really weird. It's like we're wired or programmed to hold that controller with both hands, and doing something like that makes our gamer genes cry out in pain. Although, in all honesty, once we got the hang of it, it wasn't all that bad. It's not Wiimote easy, and with the Sixaxis having no wrist strap whatsoever, we're especially worried about people sending these things sailing through their 1080p plasma screens.There's no Mii-like cutesy Fisher-Price people in this bowling game. Instead, you get extremely uncanny valley-ish avatars that look a tad frightening. Those shiny wood floors sure look good in HD, though, and there's a fairly kitschy Lebowski feel to the whole setting. Strangely enough, this downloadable PlayStation Network game is different than the bowling game you can play in Home (which still in the works). They haven't announced a price point yet but as far as a release date goes, "Fall" has been the watchword of the day.
